January is a month full of excitement in our school. It is the time when we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one! The elf on the shelf's Irish goodbye from their homes, Santa's visit, and how fortunate we are to have spent the Christmas break with our loved ones are all prominent topics of conversation during this time. Let's take a look at the fun activities we had in school this month.
New Year Celebrations: On the first day back to school in January, we celebrated the New Year together. Everyone shared their New Year's resolutions, like reading more books, learning something new, or being kind to everyone. The teachers also shared some resolutions, and we all promised to try our best in the new year!
Mosaic Art: For our art lessons this month, we combined working on our fine motor skills with recycling- a funny combination you may think! We took old magazines and newspapers that were destined for the recycling bin, and we reused them to create our own pictures. The children took inspiration from 'Mosaic art' that flourished in Ancient Rome and Greece many years ago! As a class, we looked at many examples of Mosaic art. The class then cut magazine pages into several little pieces and glued them onto their own A4 sheet to create a beautiful Mosaic piece. These art lessons not only aided their fine motor skills but also allowed them to explore different art styles and techniques and encouraged their creativity
Playing Tennis: This month, we had a special treat – tennis lessons! Our tennis coach introduced us to the game of tennis, and we learned how to hold the racket, hit the ball, and maneuver around the court. At first, it was tricky to hit the ball over the net, but with practice, we all got better! Some played friendly matches, while others practiced their serves and volleys. It was so much fun to run around and try our best to win points! The tennis coach even awards a trophy each week to the pupils who put in their best effort and have exceptional listening abilities! Tennis is not only a great way to stay active, but it also helps us improve our focus and coordination. We can't wait to play more in the coming months and show off our new skills!
Learning about Chinese New Year: Not only did the 3rd classes discuss how they celebrated their own New Year, but as a class, from our own classroom, we took our minds across the world to explore Chinese New Year. We embarked on an exciting cultural adventure by completing projects on the Chinese New Year! Our class dived into the rich traditions, symbols, and celebrations surrounding this important holiday. We started by discovering that the Chinese New Year is celebrated in many parts of the world and marks the start of the lunar calendar. Each year is associated with one of the 12 animals from the Chinese zodiac, and 2025 will be the Year of the Snake! Using chrome books, the children independently continued their own research on the biggest celebration of the year- marked by family gatherings, delicious food, and lots of fun activities.
Wellbeing Wednesday: During January, as part of our 'Wellbeing Wednesday' initiative, our third-class students took a break from their usual lessons to try something new and exciting—well-being yoga! Yoga is not just about stretching; it’s also a great way to feel calm, focused, and relaxed. Our class was eager to give it a go and learn how yoga can help us feel good inside and out. The best part was learning about how yoga can help us take care of our mental health, too. By staying calm and focused, we were able to take a break from the hustle and bustle of school life and simply enjoy being in the moment. We practiced mindfulness, which meant paying attention to how our bodies felt while we stretched and breathing deeply to calm our minds. Our third-class students loved their well-being yoga session and can’t wait to try it again. It’s a fun and helpful way to take care of both our bodies and minds!
Presenting Our Projects: This month, we also worked on our presenting skills by showcasing the exciting projects that we had completed right before Christmas. Each child chose an animal they were interested in and created a project about it. This project work allowed the children to engage with the English writing genre 'report writing' in a creative way. The teachers guided the students by providing basic sub-headings, but it was up to the students to conduct their own research. The children were provided with the research tools they needed (e.g., chrome books, encyclopedias, books, etc.) and they got to work right away! We learned about many interesting animals, from an axolotl to an ostrich, and a red panda to a mammoth! Everyone worked extremely hard on their projects, and it was fun to see how they expressed their learning and their individuality through the project work. We then worked on our presenting skills and presented our projects to the class- focusing on eye contact, speaking clearly and slowly, and altering our tone to make it exciting for our audience. We even had a questions and answer section at the end of each presentation! It was amazing to see how much everyone had learned, and how proud each child was to share their work with their friends!
As January comes to a close, we've had a lot of fun learning, playing tennis, and completing our projects. It’s been a great start to the year, and we’re excited for what’s next. Let’s keep up the good work and make the rest of the year just as awesome!
